Electronic Arts, the maker of the popular “Madden” football franchise, could suffer a $165 million hit if the NFL lockout leads to a canceled season.

While the NFL players’ union and team owners are at an impasse over contract negotiations, EA is going full speed ahead with “Madden NFL 12” production, yesterday calling for fans to vote on which currently locked-out player to put on the cover.

The NFL also is still holding its draft, allowing for a new class of rookies to be featured in the next Madden game set to be released in August.

But should the worst-case scenario occur, a number of football-related businesses from buffalo wings to TV broadcasting would be disrupted — video games included.

Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan, said if players and team owners don’t strike a deal, Madden sales could drop by as much as 50 percent.

“I would guess that half the people who play Madden play because they genuinely like the game and half buy it because it’s a gift, and it’s the gifts that are at risk if the season is cancelled and football is not foremost” in peoples’ minds, Pachter said.

Sales of last year’s Madden 11 topped 5.5 million. The game hit shelves with an initial $59.99 price tag — roughly $330 million in revenue — although some games were sold at a $10 discount.

EA said it has planned for the worst in giving its guidance for the year based on the assumption that the season would be cancelled.

Andrey Glukhov, an analyst with Brean Murray, Carret & Co., said there have been few sports labor battles like this one, making it tough to figure out exactly how it would affect the videogame industry.

“I think the current rule of thumb is that the sales get cut by about a third. It is possible that the downside for ‘Madden NFL 12’ proves to be larger than a third,” he said. gsloane@nypost.com